1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic component insertion devices apparatus and more specifically to an apparatus for preforming the leads of an axial lead electrical component so that the component may be inserted into pre-lined holes in a circuit board with the axial axis of the component perpendicular to the circuit board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, tape mounted axial lead components have been fed to an insertion head which is adapted in sequence to sever the leads of a presented component in order to separate such component from a pair of spaced carrier tapes, bend the severed leads at right angles to the axis of the separated component, and finally drive the bent leads into preformed apertures provided in a circuit board disposed below the insertion head.
Typical examples of the above are the single component insertion device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,404 and a multiple component insertion device as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,796,363. Even film-mounted electrical components have been inserted with their bodies parallel to the circuit board, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,783,488.
To increase the packing density on circuit boards, it has been suggested that the shortest dimension of an electrical component (that is, the diameter) be parallel to the circuit board, instead of the longest dimension (that is, the length). To this end, the "Insertion Apparatus" of U.S. application Ser. No. 501,682, file Aug. 29, 1974, was developed which application is commonly assigned with the instant application and is understood to be incorporated herein by reference. The apparatus of the present case is intended as an improvement over that as shown in Ser. No. 501,682.